Hurricane Sally
Hurricane Sally was a catastrophic and devastating Category 5 hurricane that struck Florida, Mexico, and California on a long-lived and erratic track, causing major flooding and humanitarian crises to those areas. It was also the first C5 hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Michael in 2018, the first C5 to make landfall in Mexico since Hurricane Dean in 2007, and the only one of two storms to impact California as a hurricane. It was one of the deadliest and costliest hurricanes on record, causing a total of 34,700 fatalities and inflicting about $185 billion (USD). The eighteenth named storm, twelfth hurricane, fifth major hurricane, and second Category 5 hurricane in the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, Sally originated from a tropical wave forming in Africa in mid-September. On October 6 since the low organized, it was designated as a tropical depression. It was slow to intensify at first but it finally intensified into a tropical storm 2 days after it formed. A day later, it intensified into a hurricane and on October 10 intensified into a Category 2 hurricane. The next day, it managed to quickly intensify into a Category 5 hurricane before it made landfall in the state of Florida. It rapidly weakened after landfall, becoming a Category 2 after it emerged to the Gulf of Mexico. It then started to intensify again, becoming a major hurricane again on October 13. The hurricane continued to intensify due to warmer waters, and it became a Category 5 hurricane on October 15 and peaking at a 175/908 hurricane. Sally then made landfall at the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, weakening rapidly inland. Meteorological history A tropical wave formed over Africa in the midst of September. It then emerged off of Africa and into the open Atlantic, gradually moving west-northwest. Despite the favorable conditions there, the tropical low remained disorganized for about a week. On October 3, the low finally started to organize and started to have a better convection and on October 6, it was designated as Tropical Depression Nineteen by the NHC. Nineteen didn’t change in intensity for a day due to moderate wind shear. Then when Nineteen moved out from the area of moderate wind shear at late October 7, it started to intensify, becoming a tropical storm on October 8 at 0600 UTC and earning the name Sally by the NHC. It curved to the north-northwest while it intensified. It strengthened further into a hurricane a day later on October 9, forming a ragged eye. Sally abruptly took a sharp turn to the west-southwest after intensifying into a hurricane. It then strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane on October 10 at 0000 UTC, but it suddenly weakened back to a Category 1 at 1800 UTC "for no apparent reason, it just randomly weakened", stated the NHC. After its weakening, Sally abruptly rapidly intensified, becoming a major hurricane 6 hours later. The Hurricane Hunters quickly flew into the hurricane on October 11 at 0600 UTC. They had reported a maximum 160 mph winds inside the hurricane and the NHC did just that by upgrading the hurricane to a Category 5. Its upgrade to a Category 5 is its initial peak intensity, with sustained winds of up to 160 mph (260 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 930 mbar (hPa). It made landfall during its initial peak intensity directly hitting the city of Flagler Beach, Florida on October 11 at 0600 UTC. The hurricane rapidly weakened inland, becoming a Category 2 hurricane from a Category 5 in 12 hours once it exited the state of Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico. It further weakened briefly to a Category 1 hurricane on October 12 at 0600 UTC before it got its convection back together and then strengthened back into a Category 2 just 6 hours later. The highly favorable conditions, including the warmer waters there reaching up to 88F (31C) degrees and the low wind shear there, contributed to the intensification of the hurricane. It reached Category 3 major hurricane status again early on October 13. It continued to intensify, becoming a Category 4 hurricane at 1800 UTC on the same day. A very short eyewall replacement cycle occurred at this hurricane 6 hours later, preventing it from strengthening in less than 12 hours. It suddenly rapidly intensified after its short eyewall replacement cycle, becoming a Category 5 hurricane again early on October 15. It then reached its peak intensity at 0600 UTC that day, with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph (280 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 908 mbar (hPa). It then weakened slightly before its landfall due to it interaction with land. Sally’s winds were dropped 10 mph (km/h) to 165 mph (270 km/h) and the pressure was upped to 911 mbar (hPa) once it made landfall in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas 6 hours later. Sally rapidly weakened inland over Mexico, plummeting below major hurricane status just 12 hours after landfall and weakening into a tropical storm just 24 hours after landfall on October 16. It then weakened below tropical storm status 6 hours later that day at 1200 UTC. The depression somehow managed to hold on for another 24 hours before crossing into the East Pacific basin, the first one to cross since Hurricane Marco 6 years ago in 2020. Just 12 hours in the basin, the depression managed to get better organized and was upgraded to a tropical storm again. It then hit Baja California Sur as a weak 40/1003 TS on October 18 at 0600 UTC. It again weakened to a TD six hours later over the western edge of the state. Sally then intensified into a tropical storm again twelve hours later. It got its convection back together again and on October 19 at 1800 UTC, it intensified into a hurricane again. Abruptly, it rapidly intensified, jumping from a C1 to a C3 in 12 hours as it tries to loop around toward the north. It took some time to intensify and on October 21 at 1200 UTC, Sally strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane. That’s when it reached its peak intensity in the East Pacific, with maximum sustained winds of 135 mph (220 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 937 mbar (hPa). The hurricane was situated in cooler waters after its peak intensity in the basin, and it didn’t weaken back to a Category 3 until 0000 UTC on October 22. It then weakened below major hurricane strength six hours later. It then made a very rare landfall in the northwestern tip of Baja California while it was a Category 2 hurricane, with winds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h) when it struck. However, it remained a hurricane while remaining tropical over SoCal, becoming only one of the two known storms to impact California as a hurricane, the other one is the 1858 San Diego hurricane. It finally turned post-tropical on October 23 at 0000 UTC, while it was still over Southern California. Preparations Florida When Sally turned westward and approached the state of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane, hurricane and tropical storm watches were issued along the eastern edge of the state, ending at the cities of St. Augustine Beach and Daytona Beach. When the hurricane weakened back to a Category 1 after intensifying into a Category 2 hurricane, hurricane and tropical storm warnings were now put up. Thinking it’ll strike the state as a Category 2 hurricane, the people in the Florida East Coast prepared carefully for the hurricane that was coming for them. Around 650,000 people evacuated away from the state and away from where the hurricane’s going to strike; another 15,000 were asked to evacuate but refused to. Mexico As Sally approaches the Mexican state of Tamaulipas as a Category 4 hurricane, the governor of that state orders everyone to evacuate out of the state. About 1.5 million people prepared for the hurricane and evacuated, making it one of the biggest evacuations for a hurricane. About 250,000 chose to stay and ride out the strong hurricane. At the same time, on October 13, hurricane watches and tropical storm watches were issued for the whole state of Tamaulipas, as well as parts of Texas, up to the Padre Island. A day later, hurricane and tropical storm warnings were put up in the same areas, as Sally intensifies into a Category 5 hurricane again. California in preparations for the hurricane]] When Category 4 hurricane Sally in the Eastern Pacific quickly barrels into California, people in San Diego and Los Angeles were very shocked about the hurricane going to hit them. Hurricane and Tropical Storm watches were put up from the Mexican state of Baja California to Los Angeles. The people there were so shocked that when they were ordered to evacuate by the Californian government, they quickly prepared and evacuated. About 2 million evacuated out of the hurricane’s projected path. But the evacuation was a very slow process, people were stuck in the freeways and highways for hours since the California traffic is common for them. As a result, many people couldn’t evacuate before the hurricane struck. Impact and Aftermath Florida Sally brought rain and other conditions to the state of Florida starting when it was rapidly strengthening from Category 1 status. When the hurricane reaches Category 5 strength and made landfall at this intensity, it completely wrecked and damaged the buildings along the coast, sending waves and storm surge of up to 10 ft (3 m) to the shores of Florida. The city of Palm Coast reported the rainfall there of up to 19.57 in (497 mm). Cities around central Florida reported wind gusts up to 165 mph (265 km/h). Electricity was cut off for at least 5 days in central Florida after the hurricane struck, with a total of about 700,000 without power. In total, Sally killed about 4,120 people direct and indirect, mainly due to storm surge, flooding, and more. Florida’s total damage from the hurricane is estimated to be $20 billion (USD). Mexico The Mexican state of Tamaulipas started reporting hurricane force winds when Sally intensified into a Category 5 hurricane on October 15. Sally made landfall in that state as a 165 mph (270 km/h), 911 mbar hurricane. The city of Soto la Marina reported 32.95 in (837 mm) of rain, due to Sally’s slow movement while approaching Mexico. Sally’s heavy rain triggered multiple mudslides around the state, killing around 3,100 people there. Another 2,900 fatalities were caused by storm surge, which were estimated to be about 15 ft (4.6 m) high, and the flooding caused by the hurricane. The hurricane knocked out the power for the whole state, which lasted more than two weeks before the power started to come back again. The hurricane completed damaged the houses and other buildings there. The hurricane inflation more than $43 billion (USD) in damages in Tamaulipas alone. Sally left many communities in the state in despair in the wake of the hurricane. The hurricane also left the state of humanitarian crisis, diseases, water, food, and poverty problems came in the wake of Sally, further killing 4,000 people in the state. The death toll totaled around ten thousand in the Mexican state altogether. California The southern portion of California was critically hit by Sally when it was over the state as a Category 1/2 hurricane. The city of San Diego reported a wind gust of up to 90 mph (145 km/h) and Los Angeles reported 80 mph (130 km/h) wind gusts. Sally created storm surge of about 20 ft (6.1 m) tall and produced rainfall of up to 43 in (1092 mm), making many of the cities there in SoCal flooded after the major drought they were suffering since 4 months. It damaged many buildings and towers in the San Diego and Los Angeles’ metropolitan areas and cut off the power there for up to 2 days. About 10,000 people were initially reported to be killed during the hurricane. But in Sally’s wake, it sabotaged the water supply and left many people homeless and poor, causing a human crisis there. An additional 9,600 people died due to the crisis, totaling about 19,600 fatalities. The storm inflicted about $120 billion (USD) from California alone. Residents of SoCal say that this was the worst disaster that they have ever seen. California declared a state of emergency when the storm hit. Other areas Retirement On March 2027, the WMO retired the name Sally due to all of the devastation and deaths it caused. It was replaced by Stella for the 2032 season. Category:Category 5 hurricanes Category:Destructive storms Category:Deadly storms Category:Storms that crossed over basins Category:Florida landfalls Category:California Hurricanes Category:Hurricanes in Mexico Category:2026 Atlantic hurricane season Category:Sandy156’s creations Category:Retired storms